Curse on the Land: Soulwood, Book 2

Before Nell Ingram met skinwalker Jane Yellowrock, she had no one to rely on, finding strength only in her arcane connection to the dark woods around her. But now she has friends in the newly formed PsyLED team to keep her grounded - even if being part of the agency responsible for policing paranormals comes with dangers of its own.

Unraveled

As the current queen of the Ashland underworld, you would think that I, Gin Blanco, would know all about some secret society controlling things from behind the scenes. I might be the Spider, the city's most fearsome assassin, but all my Ice and Stone elemental magic hasn't done me a lick of good in learning more about the Circle. Despite my continued investigations, the trail's gone as cold as the coming winter.

Magic Binds: Kate Daniels, Book 9

Mercenary Kate Daniels knows all too well that magic in post-Shift Atlanta is a dangerous business. But nothing she's faced could have prepared her for this.... Kate and the former Beast Lord Curran Lennart are finally making their relationship official. But there are some steep obstacles standing in the way of their walk to the altar.... Kate's father, Roland, has kidnapped the demigod Saiman and is slowly bleeding him dry in his never-ending bid for power.

Blood of the Earth: Soulwood, Book 1

When Nell Ingram met skinwalker Jane Yellowrock, she was almost alone in the world, exiled by both choice and fear from the cult she was raised in, defending herself with the magic she drew from her deep connection to the forest that surrounds her. Now, Jane has referred Nell to PsyLED, a Homeland Security agency policing paranormals, and agent Rick LaFleur has shown up at Nell's doorstep.

Cold Burn of Magic

It's not as great as you'd think, living in a tourist town that's known as "the most magical place in America". Same boring high school, just twice as many monsters under the bridges and rival Families killing each other for power. I try to keep out of it. I've got my mom's bloodiron sword and my slightly illegal home in the basement of the municipal library. And a couple of Talents I try to keep quiet, including very light fingers and a way with a lock pick.

Skinwalker: Jane Yellowrock, Book 1

Jane Yellowrock is the last of her kind-a skinwalker of Cherokee descent who can turn into any creature she desires and hunts vampires for a living. But now she's been hired by Katherine Fontaneau, one of the oldest vampires in New Orleans and the madam of Katie's Ladies, to hunt a powerful rogue vampire who's killing other vamps.

Touch of Frost: Mythos Academy, Book 1

My name is Gwen Frost, and I go to Mythos Academy - a school of myths, magic, and warrior whiz kids, where even the lowliest geek knows how to chop off somebody's head with a sword and Logan Quinn, the hottest Spartan guy in school, also happens to be the deadliest. But lately, things have been weird, even for Mythos. First, mean girl Jasmine Ashton was murdered in the Library of Antiquities. Then, someone stole the Bowl of Tears, a magical artifact that can be used to bring about the second Chaos War. You know, death, destruction and lots of other bad, bad things.

Some Girls Bite: Chicagoland Vampires, Book 1

They killed me. They healed me. They changed me. Sure, the life of a graduate student wasn't exactly glamorous, but it was mine. I was doing fine until Chicago's vampires announced their existence to the world---and then a rogue vampire attacked me. But he only got a sip before he was scared away by another bloodsucker...and this one decided that the best way to save my life was to make me the walking undead.

Legacy of the Demon: Kara Gillian, Book 8

Sidelined demon summoner Kara Gillian has her hands full when dimensional rifts allow demons to cause widespread panic and destruction on Earth. These aren't the human-tolerant summonables she's known before, but demons from the far reaches of the demon realm. Add three demonic lords with conflicting ambitions to the mix, and Kara has the perfect recipe for global disaster.

Ancient Magic: Dragon's Gift: The Huntress, Book 1

Cass Clereaux is good at two things: finding treasure and killing demons. Lying low is a close third - but not because she wants to be good at hiding. Cass is a FireSoul, one of the unlucky few to inherit a piece of a dragon's soul. On the surface, the perks are sweet - she has the power to find and steal any type of magical treasure, including the powers of other supernaturals. But it doesn't come without a price; stealing powers requires that she kill, and others would destroy her if they discover what she is.

Succubus Blues: Georgina Kincaid, Book 1

Succubus (n.) An alluring, shape-shifting demon who seduces and pleasures mortal men. Pathetic (adj.) A succubus with great shoes and no social life. See: Georgina Kincaid. When it comes to jobs in hell, being a succubus seems pretty glamorous. A girl can be anything she wants, the wardrobe is killer, and mortal men will do anything just for a touch. Granted, they often pay with their souls, but why get technical? But Seattle succubus Georgina Kincaid's life is far less exotic.

Exodus: Imp Series, Book 8

Aaru is at war. The rebel angels are calling for Sam's exclusion from the Ruling Council and her banishment to Hel. But Sam's isn't the only future at risk. If they're defeated, Gregory and his brothers will face exile, losing everything they've spent billions of years to build.

Written in Red: A Novel of the Others

As a cassandra sangue, or blood prophet, Meg Corbyn can see the future when her skin is cut - a gift that feels more like a curse. Meg's Controller keeps her enslaved so he can have full access to her visions. But when she escapes, the only safe place Meg can hide is at the Lakeside Courtyard - a business district operated by the Others. Shape-shifter Simon Wolfgard is reluctant to hire the stranger who inquires about the Human Liaison job.

Dead Spots

When LA’s vampires, witches, and werewolves make a mess, they call Scarlett Bernard to clean it up. Her ability as a null erases all magical traces from anything — or anyone — that comes within ten feet of her, and keeps humans in the dark about the city’s paranormal activity. One night when she’s called to a grisly crime scene, Scarlett is spied by the all-too-human LAPD cop Jesse Cruz, who strikes up a deal with her: he’ll keep quiet about the supernatural underworld if she helps him crack the case. She agrees, but the city’s chief vampire, Dash, starts to suspect Scarlett is behind the murders and will reveal all she knows of his shadowy empire. Now it’ll take more than Scarlett’s unique abilities to clear her name, keep the underworld underground, and track down the real killer.

Bloodfire: Blood Destiny, Book 1

Mack might be, to all intents and purposes, a normal looking human, but she lives with a pack of shapeshifters in Cornwall in rural England after being dumped there by her mother when she was just a young child. She desperately wants to be accepted by her surrogate family, not least because a lot of them hate her for merely being human, but for some reason her blood just won't allow the transformation to occur.

The Becoming: Anna Strong, Vampire, Book 1

Anna Strong is trained for anything-until she's attacked one night, only to awaken in a dark world that exists between the living and the dead. Here, Anna struggles with her love for the two men who inhabit the realms of each: Max, a human DEA agent, and Avery, a Night Watcher who joins Anna in pursuit of the vampire who changed her life. Now, as her two worlds collide, fate plunges Anna into the ultimate battle between good and evil - where survival is not just for the living.

Karen M. Krettler says:"Another new take on vampires and the paranormal."

Mark of the Demon: Kara Gillian, Book 1

"Why me? Why now?" That’s what Beaulac, Louisiana, detective Kara Gillian was asking herself when an angelic creature named Rhyzkahl unexpectedly appeared during a routine summoning. Kara was hoping to use her occult skills to catch a serial killer, but never had she conjured anything like this unearthly beautiful and unspeakably powerful being whose very touch set off exquisite new dimensions of pleasure.

Clean Sweep

On the outside, Dina Demille is the epitome of normal. She runs a quaint Victorian Bed and Breakfast in a small Texas town, owns a Shih Tzu named Beast, and is a perfect neighbor, whose biggest problem should be what to serve her guests for breakfast.

Audible Editor Reviews

The first installment in Jennifer Estep's new Elemental Assassin series, Spider's Bite introduces us to Ashland, a southern city in the Appalachians where you're as likely to run across a good barbeque joint as you are a vampire hooker on the corner. It's a gritty film noir-ish world with lots of back alleys, hit squads, and corrupt cops behind most every badge. The main character is Gin Blanco, or Gin to her friends, but in some circles she's known only as Spider the assassin. However, in the secretive world of Ashland, she and her cohorts seem to be just as trustworthy and honorable as the next guy  but are they? Everyone in this town has an angle, a history  and it seems most have blood on their hands.

Actress Lauren Fortgang does a fascinating balancing act voicing Gin. There's ample southern lilt and sly naughty charm to bring the material to life, and there is considerable music and imagery to be mined here in the writing. Yet her voice has enough bite and gravel to ground our no-nonsense morally ambiguous anti-heroine. The challenge for any good book in the urban fantasy genre is the paradox of making wildly fantastical worlds believable. Estep manages to take Ashland  this world of troubled souls, dwarfs, giants, and vampires, as well as human elementals who can tap into the very forces of nature  and make it all seem part of the everyday grind. With Spider's Bite you feel as if you could really walk these streets, but you'd also immediately feel the dirt on your skin and the hairs rising on the back of your neck as you hear noises in the shadows. Fortgang completes the task, making Gin a very believable character, somehow part embittered hard-ass, part loyal friend, and vulnerable lost soul on occasion.

The book takes a cue from its main character. It is patient, carefully spinning a web of atmospheric settings and carefully observed characters  then like a spider it jumps into action from the dark. Ashland is a tricky place and you can never judge anyone by appearances, especially Gin, and it seems there's a long line of those who have died underestimating her. One should be wary, though, of any sexy southern charmer who can not only summon razor-sharp ice daggers from thin air, but also control the very bricks in walls, rocks, and stones, and the very ground beneath her. Cleo Creech

Publisher's Summary

They call me the Spider. I'm the most feared assassin in the South -- when I'm not busy at the Pork Pit cooking up the best barbecue in Ashland. As a Stone elemental, I can hear everything from the whispers of the gravel beneath my feet to the vibrations of the soaring Appalachian Mountains above me. My Ice magic also comes in handy for making the occasional knife. But I don't use my powers on the job unless I absolutely have to. Call it professional pride.

Now that a ruthless Air elemental has double-crossed me and killed my handler, I'm out for revenge. And I'll exterminate anyone who gets in my way -- good or bad. I may look hot, but I'm still one of the bad guys. Which is why I'm in trouble, since irresistibly rugged Detective Donovan Caine has agreed to help me. The last thing this coldhearted killer needs when I'm battling a magic more powerful than my own is a sexy distraction... especially when Donovan wants me dead just as much as the enemy.

I agree that the narrator has an AMAZING voice for Gin. The problem is that she read everything in the same slow, monotone, emotionless way. Whether describing the scenery, a hit, her family's death... it all was the exact same pace, with no inflection. I really wanted to get into the story, but I kept zoning out and having to go back and re-listen to parts. After an hour and a half, I couldn't keep going anymore. The story didn't hook me yet either, but it wasn't that far into the book. Also, the super slow pace and lack of energy and emotion definitely made it harder to connect to Gin. But, there hadn't been a whole lot of character development so far either, and very little to be invested in yet. Maybe that would've gotten better. I'll never know though, since I'm returning the book.

This book was one big cliche. The story was predictable. The characters were caricatured and without any depth.

I had quite a few laughs listening to this story. I do not think that it was intentional for the writer to make me laugh as reader/listener. And they were not laughs based on humour, more of a "I don't know what else to do" kinda laugh.

The description of the eyes kept popping up, and I was both laughing and thinking what a waste of my money each time it happened (and trust me it happens a lot). Who keeps describing herself looking at things with her eyes and the colour of her eyes? Noone.

it does not stop there:

"Guilt and grief racked my heart" is heard more than often."Cold rage in my heart" likewise.

The writer just tries too hard to make the persons in the story interesting and ends up making them shallow, and stupid.

Some might feel that the narrator is good. I am not one of them. Whenever she was trying to make someone sound sexy and persuasive they sounded like stupid braindead pornstars. When the rugged detective (and you will hear that a lot) is "talking" it sounds more like a person on drugs, than a person rugged and tough.

Add a story that is neither good nor interesting, and you get to waste a lot of hours you will never get back. None of the heroes or the main bad guys/girls have any flaws. They all belong in a model magazine.

I was left with a feeling of this becoming a teenage girl fantasy novel, and if that is your age you might enjoy this story. Everyone else should avoid it.

I will not be spending any more money of credits on this series, and you might be wondering why I bothered listening to the story until the end - if you have the answer please share because I do not know. Might be that I just hoped something remotely interesting would happen.

... I paid for it. Is it wrong to listen to a whole story only for that reason?

It's the only thing that has gotten me through this book anyway. I hope for the sake of anyone who chooses to go on with the rest of the series that the author doesn't continue to remind you every couple of chapters that Gin looks at things with her grey eyes... Nobody ever describes the colour or their own eyes when they are looking at something. Let alone every single time. It's irritating. Self-absorbed.

There's a difference between a strong character, and a boastful, arrogant character. I found myself rolling my eyes over and over again when Gin was going on about her own endless awesomeness. Sorry, I found myself rolling my BLUE eyes over and over again... (You can see how that's irritating, yes?) Not to mention how often she repeats herself about where she keeps her five knives, how the spider runes ended up on her hands, and the exact same aspects of different characters' appearances . There's no need to remind your readers of trivial details over and over again.

Would you try another book from Jennifer Estep and/or Lauren Fortgang?

No. The book seems like a 12th grade creative writing assignment gone wrong. The repetition of information again and again is distracting. I haven't had to mention to anyone the color of my eyes more than once ever. I can actually go months without considering this. The main character has trouble going more than 2 or 3 minutes without mentioning what is going on with her GRAY EYES. I listen to audiobooks all the time, ( I am a long distance truck driver) and this was quite possibly the worst purchase I've made. I may be spoiled, I just finished the fourth book in the iron druid series, 13 books of the dresden files and the Mercy Thomas series. I was unable to listen to more than the first hour of this book.

More action. I got the book based on reviews and was very disappointed.

Has Spider's Bite turned you off from other books in this genre?

I liked a couple already. This one was not good.

What three words best describe Lauren Fortgang’s voice?

OK but...

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

disappointment

Any additional comments?

We buy lots from Amazon because of the reviews, but the reviews and the quality of the books on Audible don't measure up. I don't know if they are padded or not. Considering dropping membership. For every 5 I buy, and I buy a lot, maybe 1 is good. What's up with that?

This book is badly written and though popular, I gave up and do not intend to finish it. I've read all this before, nothing new, and the writing can't possibly have gotten past any serious editor. It may get better, but I will never know. There are so many good books, and this, in my opinion, is just a re-hash of other people's ideas. Try Nancy Collins if you want to read this done well.

While the narrator gave it her best go, you can't turn a pig's ear into a silk purse. While this might be a cliche to use, the kind of writing contained within only deserves a cliche. In a word: Yawn. Next?

My pic says it all. That's my dog and he is really barking for me to throw another snowball. Scary looks but really just a playful guy by nature. Been reading sf/fantasy like a power nerd my whole life which is almost 50 years now. I like all sorts of stuff just make the story believable...

The story was just short of average with huge plot holes throughout. The psychotic lead needed a bullet in the head as far as I was concerned. Every character in the entire book was a bad apple and seemed to be a child beating rapist. Shouldn't every book have a least one character that is worth bonding with.

Another thing that always drives me crazy in books like this is how they have these incredible powers but still ignore them. It just does not make any sense. "Oh, I'm a powerful and rare stone elemental but really don't want to ever use my power", get real.

If you are super bored and there is nothing else in your library then put this on. Ignore the nasty characters, redundant descriptions, huge plot holes and try to get your commute finished.

I was originally sceptical and was doubtful about the narrator, but i have to say it grew on me, the action and storyline moved on at a great pace - i have now listened to the next 3 books - The stories have a good link maintained through the books and you find yourself cheering for the Heroine -

A thumbs up and my advice order it up

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Helen Candlin

3/24/16

Overall

Performance

Story

"worth persisting with"

Took a bit to get into but glad i am persevered as I enjoyed it in the end.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Creative Butterfly

Ilford, United Kingdom

11/29/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"This book didn't quite Bite"

The book started off well but didn't quite have me on the characters side. Gin has a back story to why she became an assassin however you feel nothing for her and her sob story. Even with her carer/ handler dying you don't feel her pain. There is no connection with the character and her romantic interest "Detective " is so not believable.

Going to give book 2 the benefit of the doubt.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Amazon Customer

Newton Abbot, United Kingdom

7/4/14

Overall

Performance

Story

"Good But Not Fabulous"

If you could sum up Spider's Bite in three words, what would they be?

Interesting - a world where humans, elementals, giants and dwarves all live in reasonable harmonyPredicable - I am an Urban Fantasy reader and so found the end very predicable, especially the final ten minutes where she set-up the next bookUnusual - different lead character as she is an assassin.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I liked Gin but I loved the way Donovan stood by his principles.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No - could have but I was not so enthralled that I needed to listen all the time.

Any additional comments?

I will keep by eyes open for her next book but I wont be devastated if I don't read it immediately.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

ruth

rustington, United Kingdom

2/24/14

Overall

Performance

Story

"No meek heroine here!"

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Definitely recommended.

What did you like best about this story?

I loved this book, the story, the heroine and the narrator. This is no meek heroine waiting for either her enemies or her friends to take any steps. She is happy to initiate anything she wants which is such a refreshing change. No doubts or internal double guessing on her part. The side characters are all really well developed as well and I loved them as much as I loved the heroine.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Andrew

Bangor, United Kingdom

12/12/13

Overall

Performance

Story

"An intresting world with gripping characters"

Any additional comments?

An interesting world with vivid and in depth characters that you become attached too very quickly as you get pulled into there lives full of assassins, elemental mages and intrigue. The city of Ashland makes sin city seem like a vacation spot, all in all well worth a listen for anyone who likes the modern fantasy genre.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Dean

Southport, United Kingdom

6/4/12

Overall

"WHAT A BOOK!!!"

So I've just finished listening to this book; Spider's Bite: Elemental Assassin, Book 1, by Jennifer Estep.

And I've got to say... WHAT LISTEN/READ! Each assassination is more graphical than the last, the character development is really well illustrated and the narration is spot on!! Hats off to Lauren Fortgang, who really brought these mesmerizing characters to life, and very well done to Jennifer Estep for creating such an awesome city/world / novel!

This is a world of vampires and mages (elementals) and rogue assassins. The spine-chilling conclusion to this fantastic novel has definately left me eager to spend my next credit chip on the sequel.

DEFINATELY WORTH LISTENING TO!!

3 of 4 people found this review helpful

Rebel

11/12/16

Overall

Performance

Story

"surprisingly good"

Brash, gory and unrepentant. Loved it. Another strong, intelligent lead female. Can't wait to read more

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

J

Peterborough, United Kingdom

6/18/16

Overall

Performance

Story

"Fair"

Only fair story just passable and done before, but narration very good, which helped a lot.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Niall

Manchester, United Kingdom

10/11/12

Overall

"Not really elemental, but not a bad story."

I quite enjoyed this one, but there were just a few things which irked.

First, Gin is the "elemental assassin" of the series title, but does very little elemental anything. I was kind of sold on the opening, where Gin kills a target with skill and ingenuity; that seems to head off down hill pretty quickly.

The potential attraction to a handsome, straight-laced detective made me cringe. So stereotypical it hurt. Seriously, pick a less obvious bad romance target.

I did get kind of grabbed by the potential back plot reveal at the end, though if it was meant to be a surprise, no sorry.

Not bad. I may try another.

1 of 2 people found this review helpful

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